Peer-reviewed article
Associations between dysfunctional parental discipline and parent-reported mental health outcomes in preschoolers: a cross-sectional study
Liangliang Liu, Mingyue Duan, Hongli Sun ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This cross-sectional study looked at how parents' discipline styles relate to mental health in 21,366 Chinese preschool children. Parents reported on their own discipline (laxness, overreactivity and verbosity) and on their child's difficulties and prosocial behaviour using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Higher overall dysfunctional discipline scores, especially laxness and overreactivity, were linked to higher odds of mental health difficulties and lower odds of adequate prosocial behaviour. Verbosity went the other way, linked to lower odds of difficulties. The authors call for balanced parenting and for interventions that address both discipline and parental well-being.
Key points
- The sample was 21,366 Chinese preschoolers with a mean age of 4.82 years.
- Higher overall parenting scores were linked to higher odds of a Total Difficulties Score above 14 (AOR = 4.03; 95% CI 3.64–4.46) and lower odds of adequate prosocial behaviour (AOR = 0.48).
- Laxness (AOR = 1.28) and overreactivity (AOR = 1.83) were linked to higher odds of difficulties.
- Verbosity was linked to lower odds of difficulties (AOR = 0.80) and higher odds of adequate prosocial behaviour (AOR = 1.23).
- Subgroup differences by education level and child age were suggested, but most interactions were not significant after multiple comparison correction.
Limitations
The cross-sectional design cannot show that discipline causes mental health outcomes, and the direction of the association is unclear. Mental health outcomes appear to be parent-reported, which may be biased, and the abstract does not describe how the sample was selected.
Abstract
This study explored the association between parental discipline and mental health in a sample of 21,366 Chinese preschool children (mean age = 4.82 ± 0.89 years; 51.77% boys, 48.23% girls). Parenting practices were measured as overall parenting scores, laxness, overreactivity, and verbosity, and children’s mental health was assessed by the official simplified Chinese version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Both outcomes were dichotomized using validated cut-offs for Chinese preschoolers, and odds ratios are reported as the odds of meeting these cut-off definitions (Total Difficulties Score > 14; adequate Prosocial Behavior Score ≥ 6). The results indicated that higher parenting scores (for total difficulties: AOR = 4.03; 95% CI: 3.64–4.46; for prosocial behavior: AOR = 0.48; 95% CI: 0.45–0.51), particularly in laxness (for total difficulties: AOR = 1.28; 95% CI: 1.23–1.34; for prosocial behavior: AOR = 0.88; 95% CI: 0.85–0.91) and overreactivity (for total difficulties: AOR = 1.83; 95% CI: 1.76–1.90; for prosocial behavior: AOR = 0.66; 95% CI: 0.64–0.68), were associated with higher odds of a Total Difficulties Score > 14 (i.e., risk of mental health difficulties) and lower odds of an adequate Prosocial Behavior Score (≥ 6), while verbosity (for total difficulties: AOR = 0.80; 95% CI: 0.77–0.84; for prosocial behavior: AOR = 1.23; 95% CI: 1.19–1.27) was associated with lower odds of a Total Difficulties Score > 14 and higher odds of an adequate Prosocial Behavior Score (≥ 6). Subgroup analyses suggested potential effect modification by education level and child age, but most interaction effects were not significant after multiple comparison correction. The findings emphasize the need for balanced parenting and interventions targeting both discipline and parental well-being to enhance children’s mental health.